It's all Greek to me
by Morrowyn
Summary: There is no biological reason for sleep, as the bodily processes of most multicellular organisms are largely self sustaining. Psychologically, sleep is a refuge, a safe house of sorts where the unconscious mind can analyze and categorize the day's happenings free of external stimuli. Even if that stimuli is a secret mission aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier...and a trip to Asgard
1. Chapter 1

There is no biological reason for sleep, as the bodily processes of most multicellular organisms are largely self sustaining. Psychologically, sleep is a refuge, a safe house of sorts where the unconscious mind can analyze and categorize the day's happenings free of external stimuli. Things that occur during sleep - dreams, nightmares, premonitions -, can all be allotted to the sentient mind's way of coping with and preparing for strenuous circumstances, namely combat, emotional trauma, and death.

* * *

I made a slight noise in the back of my throat as the pain behind my bloodshot eyes faded into a nagging buzz in the back of my mind, my eyelids rising leadenly from their stupor as adrenaline pumped false energy into my body. I stood slowly, the lethargy sluggishly leaving my legs as I forced myself onto my feet, my fight-or-flight response quarrelling almost audibly with itself as I groggily took notice of my surroundings, momentarily confused the the metal corridor I found myself standing in. My mind worked quickly, easily bringing relevant memories forward from the ever present fog of sleep.

Epaphroditos had somehow managed to get aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, had then gotten caught aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, and was now being held somewhere on board. My cousin, Thane, and I had come at the behest of his mother to mystically extricate him from the mess he'd made. I stretched as my mind ran itself in circles trying to ascertain just why in the Underworld I had fallen asleep in a hallway. Blinking sleepily, I reached into my pyjama pocket and pulled out my cell phone, absent mindedly checking the time.

_Damn, only a ten minute nap._

In retrospect, I suppose going to sleep while on lookout was probably a bad idea, but, hey, it hadn't been mine. Putting someone with my somnic needs in a position of such responsibility can be fatal.

I felt Thane before I heard him, his solemnity calming my frantic thoughts. **I found him; he's being held on the main deck. Careful, there's a guard.**

Disgruntled as always by mind to mind contact, I mentally mapped out the quickest route to the deck, stuffing both hands into my pockets as I waited for Thane to join me. Just then, the sound of heavy boots rang out against to metal floor ahead of me, and I immediately fell into a defensive crouch, all grogginess gone from my mind and body. Hastily, I scanned the walls on either side of me for a quick escape route.

"Kimon, over here!"

I instinctively turned in the direction of the urgent whisper, sliding into a side passage where my cousin's tense form was leaning against the wall, listening. Thane was quite a bit older than me- and thus in charge of our little operation-, and it showed; frown lines etched themselves deep into the corners of his hazel eyes and were made only deeper by the eternal furrow of his brow. We had the same nose, long and straight, and the same pointed chin, but that was where the family resemblance ended. Thane's hair was a thick, curling black, no doubt inherited from his Arabian mother, just like his gorgeous bronze tan, where as mine was a pale, soft blonde that only served to wash out my already pale face. Where Thane was tall and slender, I was rather short and on the plumper side of things. Honestly, the only way anyone would be able to tell we were related would be if they stuck around long enough to notice the similarities between our mannerisms and speech patterns. Despite having grown up on opposite sides of the globe, we were actually eerily alike. The things you inherit.

Glancing at Thane and finding him creepy engrossed in listening to the footsteps of strangers, I bit my knuckle, not quite stifling a yawn. He glared at me over his shoulder, and I rolled my eyes, rubbing my face against the soft felt of my pj's collar. Half a moment later, and Thane was standing calmly beside me, all the tension gone from his body.

"They're gone; let's go." Eyes ahead, he took cues from my mental map, and led the way to a service elevator that would take us up to the main deck without having to worry about unwanted passengers. Problem was, we needed a pass code.

Thane stepped up to the terminal and punched in a seemingly random string of numbers and I watched in mild awe as the elevator doors opened without a hitch.

"Nice," I drawled, and was rewarded with a small smile as the doors closed behind us.

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. uses elevator music.

* * *

As the floor indicator dinged with each floor -I vaguely wondered how many floors the airship could realistically house-, I found myself yawning uncontrollably. A large hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up into Thane's apologetic gaze.

I shrugged off his unspoken sorry and smiled up at him, "It's no biggie; I'll just have 'Epic-Fritos' buy me a bunch of pillows or something." Thane looked skeptical, but, thankfully, didn't persist. Besides, the door had opened.

I silently thanked the fates that the elevator refrained from dinging as Thane swiftly pulled me along behind him, casting his gaze about for anyone or anything that might alert the helicarrier personnel to our presence. After creeping around on our knees behind the Star-Trek-esque terminals, we finally found ourselves at an angle from which we could see Epaphroditos looking like a mouse in a trap with his myriad of guards.

**We will need a distraction**, Thane mused telepathically, and I tiredly scanned the room for suitable victims. My gaze settled on two men sitting at opposite ends of the main floor, pretty close to the big ass observation window that made up the helicarrier's frontal hull; if I used them, then the soldiers would have to split up, taking their infernal weapons with them. Steadying myself against Thane's shoulder, I cautiously sent tendrils of my consciousness out first to one, then the other, of my targets, scouring their minds for any feelings of fatigue or over work. Once I'd found what I was looking for, I amplified those feelings first by two, then four, gradually turning the dial until, one after the other, they fell into a deep sleep.

Almost immediately the entire helicarrier listed dangerously to one side. _Damnit, were they the pilots, or something?_ Sirens began started blazing all over the airship, red lights flashing at measured intervals all around the deck. Beside me, Thane cursed and made a mad dash for Epaphroditos, no doubt planning on using the chaos I'd created as cover. He met no opposition, as my not quite so ingenious plan had been surprisingly effective, and rather unceremoniously dragged the tall blond over to where I waited. Upon seeing me, Epaphroditos smiled widely, his blue eyes laughing and his chin dimple evident.

"Hey. Ki! Just couldn't stay away could you? Wait, are you in your pyjamas?" His English accent was even thicker than I remembered.

I rolled my eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "It's not my fault your mom called in the middle of the night." He had the decency to look sheepish, his Adonis curls bouncing as he lowered his head in exaggerated shame. I rolled my eyes again, "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

He looked as though he would answer, but Thane cut him off. "We need to leave before this thing hits ground," he gave me a pointed look before turning back to Epaphroditos. "Can you open a door to Olympus?"

My fellow blond blanched, shaking his head. "If I could do that, I wouldn't be here." Thane growled in exasperation before looking to me expectantly. I groaned, drawing glyphs in the air, the letters arranging themselves in a circular pattern.

"I hope the Underworld's good enough for you, Epic-Fritos," he scowled at my nickname, but nodded.

"Anywhere's better than here, but hurry; the one-eyed one won't be occupied for long."

Thane looked at him incredulously. "His ship is falling from the sky!"

Epaphroditos shrugged as he cast a look over his shoulder. "What can I say? Fury has some twisted priorities."

The last glyph settled into place in the air beside us, and the enclosed circle began to glow.

"Damn, Kimon, can you _get_ any flashier?"

I glared at Epaphroditos venomously. "Just go, you stupid brat." He stuck out his tongue at me, his piercing peeking out at me from beneath his top lip before he did just that. Thane cast me a worried look, but I waved away his concern. "Go on; I have to close it, anyway."

Just then, a deep voice bearing more authority than Poseidon at sea overcame the noise of the sirens and the panicked yells of footsoldiers.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

I turned and found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. Following it up to its wielder, I felt solid terror the likes of which my brother, Phobetos, could not inflict -although Morpheus came close- settle in the pit of my stomach. Director Nick Fury looked down at me with his one eye, suspicion heavy in his gaze. One glance reassured me that Thane was already through the portal, and so, sparing the Director a defiant glare, I closed it. Fury's eye narrowed and he cocked his gun.

"Where did you send them?" he asked, his words clipped and harsh.

I sighed and stood, one finger scratching absently at the side of my face as I sleepily took stock of my situation. Thane was a lawyer, so he could _probably_ get me out of this; that is, if Persephone let him live. Sighing in resignation, I started talking even as I sought the minds of the slumbering pilots.

"I sent them home."

Fury's eyebrow twitched. "How did you get on my ship?"

"I used a portal." Not one of mine, but he didn't need to know that. I could feel Fury's frustration rising through my empathy, and I knew he wouldn't deal with my evasiveness for much longer.

"Who are you?" his voice was strained, and I hastened to appease him.

"My name is Alexandria Panagopolous, although most call me Kimon," I added hastily as his suspicion rose. I tilted my head, having found the minds of the pilots. "I'd rather you called me Alexandria." I pulled the pilots from their unconsciousness.

"Well, _Alexandria,_ where did you send them?"

Damn, I'd made him really angry.

I cleared my throat. "I really can't say, sir."

Fury looked at me for a long moment, his gun still cocked and aimed at my head. I was still crouched beside the computer terminal, and finally noticed that the sirens had stopped and the helicarrier had ended its dangerous decline.

"Fine." Fury lowered his weapon, "But you're coming with me."


	2. Chapter 2

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, eyeing the heavy duty handcuffs I was wearing steadily. Shortly after being taken into custody- that sounds so much better than arrested-, I was thrown into a room with reflective walls; one of which was no doubt a two-way mirror. My interrogator, a tall short haired brunette, was standing in a corner, one hand to her earpiece as she took advice from someone on the other end. Her lack of subtlety surprised me; it certainly wasn't how it was done in the movies. Taking advantage of her turned back, I snuck my hands underneath the table they'd seated me at, drawing a glyph with a satisfied smile as its purple light faded. At the very least I had a way out.

The woman turned to me, coming out of her corner and standing just close enough for someone to wonder whether or not we were together at a party but too far away to say we were next to each other. She didn't take the seat that had been set opposite me.

"Miss Panagopoulos," I winced as she butchered my name. "You stand accused of trespassing on military property and attempting to abscond with it."

I snorted; _abscond_, really?

"How do you plead?" she continued, her expression carefully stoic. I rolled my eyes. Did she honestly think I'd plead guilty to something as bogus as that? Yes, I was _technically _trespassing, but who in their right mind would actually try and steal a _helicarrier _of all things?

**And ****_you're_**** in your right mind?**

I stiffened at the sound of my brother's voice in my head, sarcasm dripping from his words. Frightened by what his presence meant, I leapt to my feet, startling my questioner into pulling out her gun and aiming it at a point between my eyes.

"I-I need to use the restroom!" I blurted, inwardly kicking myself for such a stupid excuse. The woman didn't lower her gun, but did glance at something behind me-aha! Two way mirror located!-and licked her lip nervously.

**Why are you just sitting around like this?** My brother asked, **And use my name damnit!**

I cringed visibly; so he'd noticed. Morpheus, the second oldest of my myriad of brothers, had been my self-proclaimed tormentor since the day my abilities manifested, plaguing my mind with insidious dreams that made me loathe my body's inherent lack of energy.

"Please," I begged, the desperation in my voice leaving a sour taste in my mouth. "I need to get out of here!"

Suddenly, my brother's mischievous presence was booted from my mind, replaced by a calm, dignified voice with a light accent.

**Calm yourself, child. No one will hurt you here.**

I tensed, worried by the sudden intrusion of a stranger; were my defenses really that weak?

That would certainly explain how Morpheus kept getting past them.

**Dude, who was that?** My brother asked, and I sighed in relief; better the devil you know and all that.

Belatedly, I realized I'd been standing with a gun in my face for maybe two full minutes. Damn, but I must seem very confusing to the poor woman. Shamefaced, I sat back down heavily, seriously contemplating just ditching the whole fiasco instead of waiting for Thane to rescue me like I'd originally planned. The door opened, and I forced my face into a nonchalant expression, unwilling to reveal my panic to anyone who hadn't already seen it. My efforts were futile, of course, as the telepath who'd invaded my mind just moments ago entered the room. He was a tall man who, though confined to a wheelchair, still managed to look imposing. He had no hair, but appeared dignified rather than decrepit like most other bald men I knew-*cough* Hephaestus *cough*- and his blue eyes held great wisdom for someone so young.

He raised an eyebrow. "I would hardly count myself young; one might wonder what your standard is."

Shit. Gotta keep this simple. "Compare to mother Gaia, all beings are naught but children." There, not only had I told the truth, but I'd also managed to successfully portray myself as a new age hippie.

The telepath smiled- fuck, I'm so fucked- and somehow propelled himself forward- shit, he's a telekinetic, too-, stopping just beside the woman. I'd forgotten about her; again.

"Thank you, Jill, you may leave us."

She saluted, "Yes, Professor."

**How much you wanna bet she's got a brother named Jack?**

Ignoring my brother's obnoxious comment, I met the Professor's gaze. For some reason, he was becoming more and more familiar.

"Ah!" I exclaimed, snapping my fingers as I remembered where I'd seen this particular telepath before."You're the mutant guy! I saw you in the paper once." Professor Charles Xavier smiled indulgently, and only after several minutes did I realize just how racist I'd sounded. "Ah, not that anything's wrong with being a mutant! I mean, my mom's a mutant, so-", I stopped myself before I made an even greater fool of myself, head hung in heartfelt shame.

Xavier chuckled. "It's quite alright, child. In fact, it's because of your mother's mutation that I was called in. You _did _know she was registered with the MRD?" He looked at me expectantly and I cringed internally.

'Yes, sir, I did."

"And am I correct in assuming that you are a mutant, as well?"

I blanched; that was a difficult question for someone like me to answer. I could say yes, and be called out by the telepathic mastermind for lying. But if I said no...Inhaling deeply, I opened my mouth, completely prepared to be struck down by Zeus' lightning bolt.

"I'm not a mutant." I heard myself say, and I shrunk in my seat.

"Are you not?" he asked indulgently, no doubt assuming I was a closet mutant who was ashamed of my mutation. "How else could you have opened that portal or maintained telepathic communications."

I pursed my lips. "The telepathy is a side effect of the genetic similarities between my siblings and myself; we all have it."

The Professor raised an eyebrow, "And the portal?"

Damn.

"Divine intervention," I answered, a bit too quickly, I hoped, to be taken seriously.

Xavier's eyebrow rose even higher. "Really? By which God?"

"Skatá! Like I know!" I yelled in exasperation, "Geeze, why do _you_ want to know, anyway?"

"Because you have some interesting abilities, _Alexandria_," I looked up behind the Professor and slumped even further as I recognized Director Fury. "Abilities," he continued, "that no other mutant can even emulate."

Shit. Now what? I could try and get out of here with a portal- but with my hands bound I couldn't possibly close it fast enough to prevent Fury from following-, or I could tell the truth and ultimately subject my people to the same animosity Thor had the Asgardians when he'd revealed _their_ existence.

Which to choose, which to choose?

"I get the portals from my father." I mumbled, hoping to all the Gods that their interest would be peaked long enough to let my runes fall into place.

Fury looked on stoically. "So your father is a mutant, too?"

"No, he's not a mutant." I answered evasively, hastily scrawling little purple letters with my index finger.

"Interesting," Xavier his fingers together pensively. "You mentioned a father, but, having sampled your DNA, we know you are genetically identical to your mother, with only slight variations in the mutations on your X genes."

"What?" I exclaimed, genuinely outraged. "Don't you need my permission for that?"

The professor cast a glance at Fury. "I'd assumed we had it."

Finishing off the last rune, I smiled at the Directo. "You know S.H.I.E.L.D., always breaking the rules." Yes! Awesome finish. That said, I activated the runes surrounding my chair, but instead of falling into the welcome abyss of Tartarus, a horrible scream filled my ears. It was only after I'd lost consciousness that I realized it had been mine.

* * *

**So, what did you think? It's been a while, I know, but this takes forever, and I mean ****_forever_**** to transcribe from paper. Whew.**


End file.
